A Woman Knows
by Artemis J. Halk
Summary: Part 9/? of my "All Grown Up" series. Marinette has a secret that not even she knows about. Alya, however, has already been there, done that.


Story by request! Hope you enjoy!

* * *

"Girl, it has been way too long since we last saw one another!" Alya said as she sat down in the seat across from Marinette at the cafe.

"Yes, I know," Marinette agreed with a happy smile on her face. "Not since Camille was born. You look amazing, by the way."

"Thanks, but I feel like shit. It's the first time in over a week since I last showered," Alya said with a scowl. "And this shirt was the least covered in… well, probably for the best if you don't know." She pulled a face. "But thanks for talking me into having a girl's day today. I love Nino and Cammy, seriously. But sometimes, a woman just needs to have a little bit of me time with her girlfriends."

"No problem," Marinette said with a cheerful smile. "What with everything that's been going on these past several months, I felt like I was going to scream if I had to do anything work-related for another minute. Redesigning the bakery, moving into a new place, finalizing the sale paperwork on my shop…" She heaved a deep sigh over the last one.

Alya put a comforting hand on top of her friend's. "It's going to be okay, Mar. I know that you're sad that you had to close and sell it, but maybe this'll get you a little closer to your dream. We both know that you never wanted to do tailoring, and that the shop wasn't going to be forever."

"Yeah, but the shop was my baby, you know?" Marinette said as she ran a hand through her hair. "And even though it wasn't supposed to be forever, it was supposed to be on my terms."

"But your parents are letting you put up a display in the front window of the bakery, though? That's nice," Alya said with a slight nod of her head. She stood up. "I'm going to go get something. Do you want another…" She looked in the cup that was in front of Marinette. "What is that even?"

"Ginger tea. Not feeling very well; think I might be coming down with a cold," Marinette said.

"Ew, girl, you couldn't have told me that before I went and put my hands all over you?" Alya complained as she started to walk inside. "I can't be getting sick around Cammy— she's too little and doesn't have enough immunities yet!"

Marinette turned back to the sketches in front of her that she'd been working on when her friend had shown up. A few minutes and sketches later, and Alya returned with a cup of coffee, a replacement cup of tea for Marinette, and two scones on a plate.

"Now that you mention it, you do look a bit peaky," Alya said as she set everything down on the table.

"Oh, no thanks. I'm not really hungry," Marinette said as she eyed the scones.

"Now I know that you must really be sick if you're turning your nose up at butterscotch scones. They're your favorite!" Alya gasped out. She took a long sip of her coffee. "I am so glad to be able to have coffee again. That entire no caffeine thing just about killed me! Let me tell you, Marinette: being pregnant is the absolute worst. Don't have kids. I'm serious about that! Nine months of 'don't eat this!' and 'do this!' and strangers constantly walking up to you and telling you things like 'I can tell that you're having a boy because blah-blah-blah' or just flat-out touching you… I wasn't a human, I was an incubator for my baby! And now that she's finally here, what's my reward? Sleepless nights, going weeks with barely taking one-minute sponge baths in the kitchen sink, being constantly covered in spit-up…" She trailed off, and pulled out her phone. "Oh, but look at my precious little angel! Isn't she so cute! Look at this dress that Nino's mom bought for her!"

Marinette's head was spinning from the complete 180 her friend did. Whining about having a baby one second, gushing over baby pictures the next. She just did not understand.

* * *

After they'd finished their drinks and Alya polished off both scones, they went to a nail salon around the corner to get their nails done.

"They're so pretty, but it's too bad that I'm back to working at the bakery again," Marinette said as she admired the flowers painted onto her thumbs. "They're just going to get covered in dough and frosting, and then I'll scrub so hard that all of the paint chips off."

"Hm, girl, with a frown like that, I'd say that some retail therapy is in order, too!" Alya said with a smile.

"Fine, but I'm setting a €50 limit. In case you've forgotten, but I'm a little strapped for cash right now."

"Hey, you've got a job. You've got an apartment. You got a fine-ass boy who takes care of you. Not to mention parents who love you very much. I think that you can afford to spend a little bit more than €50 on some new clothes."

"Alya, I'm trying to be responsible here!" Marinette said with a scowl.

"And I'm trying to tell you that it's okay to treat yourself whenever you're feeling down! And if ever there is a moment for you to be treating yourself, it's now," Alya said with a roll of her eyes. She walked over to the curb to hail a taxi. "Come on. I found the cutest boutique the other week, and I just have to show you! There's a shirt that I think you'd love!"

* * *

Marinette frowned at her reflection in the dressing room mirror as she struggled with the blouse Alya had gushed about. Since when had a size six become too small for her?

"Well? Do you love it or what?" Alya asked outside of the curtain.

"It's too small," Marinette said as she pulled the shirt off. She flung it over the top of the curtain rod, and a second later, it was removed completely.

"Huh, did I get the wrong size? Well, I'll go see if they've got one in a larger size," Alya said.

As she waited, Marinette turned towards her reflection in the mirror and put her hands over her stomach. She needed to go out and spar some with Adrien, because working at the bakery again was clearly starting to affect her figure.

She used to be lean, nearly muscular. But then she and Adrien had defeated Hawk Moth. And her metabolism was probably starting to slow down, too. She couldn't just eat whatever leftover pastries her parents hadn't sold at the end of the day and call it a meal like she did when she was still in high school.

"Here," Alya said as she opened the curtain a crack and thrust another blouse in.

As Marinette pulled the shirt on, her stomach gave a loud growl to remind her that she'd only just had half of a croissant for breakfast that morning and ginger tea.

"I'm really hungry," Marinette said as she smoothed the fabric over herself. "Let's get something to eat after this."

"Okay, but you should have had one of those scones," Alya said.

"I didn't want any, but I'm hungry now," Marinette said simply.

"How's the fit? Better? Do you like the blouse?"

"Yeah, I love it," Marinette said as she admired herself in the mirror. She pulled it off, redressed, and paid for the blouse. Alya bought a bracelet, and the two of them went around the corner to another cafe.

Marinette's stomach gave off another loud growl as they stepped inside. "Oh god, it all smells so good!" she said as she stepped up to the display case. "I'll have that turkey sandwich! Ooh, and that cookie! Oh, and that cake looks so good, too! Oh, you wanna know what sounds good right now? My dad's pumpkin-pear pie. Too bad it's not that season."

"Girl," Alya said with a roll of her eyes.

"What? I wasn't feeling well earlier, and I haven't eaten much," Marinette admitted a bit sheepishly. The man behind the counter handed Marinette her food, and she paid before she went to settle into a table in the corner. Alya joined her a moment later with a cookie and another cup of coffee.

"So how long has your cold thing been going on?" Alya asked as she added sugar to her coffee.

Marinette paused with her sandwich in her mouth. She took a bite, chewed, and swallowed before she answered. "Dunno. Couple of weeks, I guess. My parents are a little leery to have me working in the kitchen, so I'm mostly on the register lately. But it's not like I'm hacking and wheezing or anything." She gave an absent shrug as she took another bite.

"Girl, you gotta level with me here," Alya said. She put her hands on the table and leaned in close to Marinette.

"A-About what? I'm not hiding anything from you, I swear! I even told you about that thing with the frosting-"

"Yes, you did!" Alya cut her off. "But you are hiding something. You're queasy. You don't fit into a size six anymore. You have a sudden craving for foods only a few hours after complaining about being queasy." She smirked at her friend. "You're pregnant."

Marinette's eyes went wide before she burst out laughing. "Come on, Alya? Pregnant? There's no way. I'm on the pill and we always use a condom."

"So was I!" Alya pointed out with a smirk. "You get too busy with your life and forget to take the pill a couple of days in a row. And then you get a defective condom… Bam! Suddenly you're wearing eau de baby spit."

"Yeah, but it's not like I'd forget," Marinette said with a roll of her eyes. She had Tikki to help her remember.

"Fine, I'll tell you what," Alya said as she stood. "I'll pop into the pharmacy next door and pick up a test while you finish up your lunch. If I'm wrong, then we'll all have a laugh about it."

Marinette didn't want to ask what they'd do if Alya was right.

Even though there was a pit of dread growing in Marinette's stomach, she kept eating, because she was still super hungry. As she ate, she tried to count back from the last period that she'd had. She couldn't remember off the top of her head, but she always wrote it down in her diary.

Could she really be…? Was the weight gain because she was actually pregnant, and not because of the pastries? And the nausea? And the cravings?

Now that Alya spelled it out like that, the signs sure did seem a lot like pregnancy. But there could be some more reasonable explanation for it, right?

Marinette groaned and stood up from the table. Time to face the music.

* * *

The timer went off and Marinette reached for the pregnancy test. "Ah-ah, wait a moment longer, okay? Trust me on this," Alya said. "It says two minutes on the box, but it's closer to three, actually."

"Come on, Alya. I'm dying over here," Marinette whispered. Her face was ashen and her hand was shaking.

"Fine fine, look at it," Alya said after a beat. She rolled her eyes.

Marinette grabbed the stick and looked at the window. Her heart dropped into her stomach.

"I'm judging by the look on your face that it says pregnant," Alya said. She grabbed Marinette's wrist so that she could see, too. She wasn't smiling now, either.

A long silence followed. "Shit girl, what are you going to do?" Alya finally asked.

Marinette was quiet for a moment as she stared down at the pregnancy test. "I don't know," she said quietly. Then she looked over to Alya. "Would you please leave? I have a lot that I need to think about."

"Sure sure," Alya said as she scrambled to her feet. "Let me know if you need anything, okay? And if I don't hear from you by the end of the week, I'm going to assume that you're dead and act accordingly."

Marinette didn't even crack a smile over their usual joke. She simply walked Alya to the door and locked it once she was gone. She sunk down onto the chair by the door and buried her face in her hands. "I really fucked up this time…"

* * *

Marinette practiced what she was going to say to Adrien when he came home, but in the end, nothing sounded quite right. She didn't want to face him, so she transformed and left her ladybug paperweight on the chair by the front door so he'd know that she'd gone.

She went to her favorite place: the Eiffel Tower. She climbed up high, to the point where all of the people on the ground looked like ants, and just sat to contemplate everything.

She put a tender hand over her stomach, which she now knew wasn't due to eating too much. "Well, I guess that I'm just glad that Hawk Moth is gone and that things have been quiet in the years since. The world doesn't need Ladybug to come save the day, so I can afford to take some maternity time."

Marinette heaved a heavy sigh and leaned her head against the metal structure as it hit her for the millionth time that she was pregnant.

It was easy to lose track of time so far removed from the rest of the world.

"My lady," Adrien said behind her. Marinette looked over her shoulder and was a little surprised at how dark that it had gotten. "What's wrong?" he asked as he approached and sat down next to her.

Marinette buried her face in her hands. "I messed up."

"Come on, bugaboo," Adrien said as he rubbed her back. "You always make a fool out of yourself in front of Alya. I'm sure that she's used to it. If you spilled coffee on her shirt or something, just offer to get it dry cleaned. It's not a big deal."

"No, it's…" Marinette started, but then trailed off when she wasn't sure how to continue.

When she remained silent for a moment, Adrien started with some hesitation. "Plagg said that you and Alya came by the apartment earlier. That you were upset about something, and asked her to leave quickly. And then you took off. But he couldn't give me any more details other than that."

"I'm pregnant!" she blurted out. She then winced. So much for her well thought-out speech to gradually ease him into the announcement.

Adrien's eyes went wide. "A-Are you sure?" he stammered out after a moment of silence.

"Well, no," Marinette said quietly. "It's just, I was having a lot of pregnancy symptoms and Alya sort of spelled it out for me. She made me take one of those home pregnancy tests. And those aren't always the most reliable anyway."

"But we always use protection," Adrien went on as he ran a hand through his hair. "I know that it's not one-hundred percent good, but you're on the pill and we always use a condom."

"Alya said that she did that, too, but she ended up pregnant anyway," Marinette said with a shake of her head. "And you know how stressed out over my shop that I've been. I might have forgotten to take my pill a couple of days. But never on purpose."

"I know; I'm every much at fault for this as you are," he said gently. They were both quiet for a beat, then, "What are we going to do? What do you want to do? I know that I want to have this baby, but I'm also not the one who's going to be sick and swollen for nine months and then push it out of a tiny hole."

"No," Marinette said with a shake of her head. "I never once thought about terminating the pregnancy. I…" She looked out over the city. "I guess that I'm just scared, that's all."

"You're not going to do this alone, bugaboo," Adrien said. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed her temple. She leaned into his side and sighed deeply.

"I guess that the next step is to get an appointment with a doctor to confirm this. I don't want to get anybody all worked up over a faulty test."

"Right," Adrien said with a slight nod. "What are you more hoping for? A false positive? Or…" He trailed off. Marinette shook her head slightly. "Then what are we going to do when the doctor confirms the pregnancy?"

"Start planning, I suppose," Marinette said with a slight shrug. "There's so much that Alya and Nino did when they found out about Camille."

Adrien offered her a faint smile. "Aren't you glad now that I talked you into getting that two-bedroom apartment? We won't have to move again so soon after barely finishing unpacking."

"Yeah, but I was really looking forward to turning that room into my work room now that my shop is closed," Marinette said with a sigh. She seemed more depressed over a lack of a sewing room than anything else.

"And we've got to get furniture. Oh and clothes! Think of all of the cute clothes that you can make for the baby!" He pressed his hand against Marinette's stomach, and seemed surprised over how round that it had gotten. "Jeez, I hadn't even noticed… I'm the worst boyfriend ever."

His eyes widened and he looked up at Marinette. "It just really hit me right now. I'm going to be a father."

Marinette smirked slightly at him, but it lacked her usual punch. "Yeah, I've been dealing with that all day. I just keep thinking that there's no way that this could possibly be real, and then I remember that it is…" She shook her head slightly.

They sat like that in a comfortable silence for a long while. Adrien's arm around Marinette's shoulders, his other hand resting over her belly. She leaned against his side. They both stared out over their city.

"Do you want a boy or a girl?" Adrien finally asked.

"I hadn't even really considered it yet," Marinette said with some hesitation. "But a girl, obviously."

"Because of all of the dresses that you can make for her?" Adrien asked with a laugh.

"Because there's no way that our genes in a boy would end up as anything but a nightmare for us."

* * *

This was not proof read, so please let me know if you spotted any errors so that I might fix them!

If you enjoyed this, please take a moment to leave kudos and/or a review! They really make my day!


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